Crossroads
by yhanna.24
Summary: It's been ten years since Sasuke left. The Rookie 9 has moved on with their lives, save for a worried Sakura and Naruto. A few weeks later, the pinkhaired kunoichi finds an unconscious Uchiha on her doorstep. From then on, things had gotten topsy-turvy. With the shinobi nations on the brink of war, Sakura wonders if she has the time to be involved with her not-so-brooding teammate.
1. Chapter 1: Afternoon Recollections

**A/N: **Hi, folks! Here's an attempt on Naruto fanfiction that's derived from the anime's storyline. I haven't watched the entire thing so I may be lacking in some aspects. You'll have to forgive me for that. I haven't written in a long time, so I figured I'd try one-shots first, but this story just urges me that it has to be read! So anyways, enjoy. :)

**Disclaimer:** I do **NOT** on Naruto (the plot along with its characters). I also have included a reference to Lady Hanaka's story **Shades of Grey **on Naruto's imagination of Sakura in this story. That part's definitely **not** mine.

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**Chapter 1: Afternoon Recollections**

It was busy on this particular late afternoon in the village of Konoha. Some of its inhabitants meandered about, what with nothing better to do. Others went about their usual business, be it attending to their shops or running errands and the like.

Sakura trudged through the streets after finally being left off of work. She set her pace as she headed straight for Hokage Tower, determined to get her meeting over with and afterwards head straight home to rest. She had been cooped up in the hospital since yesterday, with shinobis coming in one after the other. Apparently a few of the dispatched teams sent to locate the current whereabouts of the ever elusive Uchiha had a sudden skirmish with a passing group of S-rank missing-nin.

_Those stupid, _stupid_ idiots. Just because of a few blows to their ego, they just had to retaliate with violence. Didn't they realize the situation they were in? They could've _died _for Kami's sake!_

Such were the thoughts that ran through the pink-haired kunoichi's head. In her opinion, they should all be grateful to make it back alive, sporting only broken ribs as the worst case for wounds. The previous teams hadn't been so lucky. Quite a few of the shinobis came back with mangled limbs and gaping holes on some parts of their bodies.

The sudden influx of powerful missing-nins had caused a strain on their missions. Instead of coming back with their jobs finished, most return with their tasks incomplete. This had then brought so much headache for the current Hokage, her shishou, causing her to down more liquor than her usual intake. And it is not good to face a drunk Hokage who is under stress.

Evidence of this can be seen in the fissures in the walls of the Hokage Tower, having caused by a certain loud mouthed blond getting punched through.

She understands Naruto's need to find Sasuke as soon as possible, but pestering the Hokage who is already doing her best in finding the missing Uchiha is definitely uncalled for.

Reaching the heavy double doors of the Hokage's office, Sakura can hear Naruto's loud voice in a boisterous conversation with the Godaime, no doubt annoying her on the search for Sasuke's whereabouts once again.

"We have to find the teme, baa-chan." Having entered the room, Sakura was not surprised to hear this coming from the floor, where the blond was sprawled on, sporting a rather large bump on his forehead, while stating this.

Though one would have the urge to laugh at Naruto's usual antics, the man had such serious eyes that Sakura didn't have the heart to. His determination reminded her of the time the Uchiha left, as well as the prolonged duration of his absence.

This particular day marks the tenth year since the Uchiha left her unconscious on a cold stone bench on the street. Such memories suddenly popping into her head should have brought tears into her eyes, but none came.

She's a ninja now. She has long started wearing her hitai-ate on her forehead and not as a hairband like long ago. She's already a full-fledged shinobi, fully capable of handling her emotions as well as having refined her skills. She certainly is no weak genin like back then, with her being anbu like the rest of her batch. But she has to admit, there were the times when she still acted like a kid, although those were rare occasions.

The Godaime leaned back on her chair, fingers rubbing her aching temple. "Naruto, how many times do I have to tell you that we are putting as much effort we can provide to this? What you should be really focused on right now is to aid me in helping you for your preparation to be the next Hokage. I can't do this forever. Honestly, I'd really like to retire someday soon."

Naruto grimaced. His priorities right now involve retrieving Sasuke. Knowing that he would be the next Hokage anyway, being the Hokage could wait. But Sasuke, finding Sasuke, there's no guarantee. He'd really like his best friend back.

He wanted to boast to the teme that he already had a family of his own. He'd finally gotten married to Hinata a few months after her eighteenth birthday, and a year after, they had their twins. He'd like to tell Sasuke all about them. He'd like to share his own experiences throughout the years the Uchiha was gone. He'd like to tell their raven-haired teammate everything, anything at all.

And he'd especially like to tell Sasuke about Sakura. He'd been quite worried about their pink-haired teammate, thinking that she'd take a turn for the worse throughout the years the Uchiha was gone. He was afraid he'd see her take on a much more aggressive approach on finding their missing teammate that'd suit her abilities, like joining Ibiki in the Interrogation Unit and doing _certain things _to make the captive ninjas talk.

He shuddered at the thought. Thank Kami he was wrong. His bond sister had such a wonderful personality and role in this life, he'd hate to see her as anything else.

Plopping himself on a chair, he trained his attention on the conversation the two in front of him were having.

"I've been telling him, but it looks like the idiot does otherwise. Seriously, he's supposed to be paying more attention to his family." Sakura groused.

Tsunade stood and turned to begin addressing Naruto. With her arms folded in front of her, it made her chest appear bigger than it usually does. And Naruto, being a natural pervert and knucklehead, his attention span was limited to the two hills in front of him.

Tsunade was in the middle of her speech when she thought it strange for Naruto's silence. Noticing the blonde's customary grin, her eyes followed his gaze and she felt a vein in her temple start to throb. "Naruto, you ought to be paying more attention to more important things and not on another female's anatomy!"

And with a punch, Naruto has once again flown through the wall and onto the street. "You've got a wife for Kami's sake!"

Sighing, the Hokage turned to her apprentice. Sakura just gave her a lopsided smile. "Just leave it to me, I'll take care of him."

Sitting back down, Tsunade went back to reviewing the reports on her desk, the task she was bent on before Naruto barged in through the door. "We'll have to talk some other time. Shizune's been stacking me with so much papers that I actually had to work. You can hand me your report tomorrow, I don't think I'll be getting out of this office anytime soon."

"Hai, shishou. Well then, if you'll excuse me." With a respectful bow, Sakura left the room and bounded to where Naruto was still sprawled on the ground.

Shaking her head in exasperation, the medic helped her teammate up. "And here I thought you were over those antics of yours after marrying Hinata." Supporting her frazzled bond brother, she led him in the direction of her house.

"Come on, let's head over to my apartment since it is closer. Let's fix those bumps of yours, you wouldn't want to worry Hinata with her hands full of the twins, would you?"

Rubbing his aching head, he tried to steadily walk along with Sakura, "Gomenasai, Sakura-chan. I just can't help but worry about Sasuke. It's been so long."

Watching the sun set in the distance, Sakura was flooded with a feeling she couldn't describe. "I know, Naruto. I know."

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**A/N:** I apologize for the shortness. I've decided to write out the setting first. I'm not sure if this is classified as AU, but I'm following the anime's storyline up to the part where Sasuke forms Team Hebi. I have to warn you that my updates won't be constant, but I think I can have Chapter 2 up by next week.

**On another note: **I'd really appreciate it if you left reviews. No flames please, I'd be discouraged. I'd like to know how you think I'm doing, since this is only the second story I have posted (and i haven't really done much on the first, it's on my profile page if you're interested). Thanks for reading :)


	2. Chapter 2: Evening Matters

**A/N: **Here's the second chapter, although it's more like a part 2 for the first.. Why isn't anyone reviewing? _**I need reviews**! _Even just a few, please? *insert pleading eyes here* On with the story! :)

**Disclaimer: **I do **not** own Naruto. We cleared that on the previous chapter.

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**Chapter 2: Evening Matters**

Returning the items back into her first aid kit, Sakura turned to her front door. Naruto was just about to leave when Sakura remembered something, "Naruto, don't forget that you have a meeting with the Elders tomorrow. You might've not heard while staring at my shishou's assets." She then gave Naruto a pointed look.

With a laugh, Naruto just shrugged his shoulders. "I wasn't that distracted. It'll definitely be a long day. See you tomorrow Sakura-chan." And with that, Naruto left the pink-haired medic all to herself.

Sakura stretched her sore muscles before rising, from the comfortable couch where she tended to Naruto, to return the first aid kit to where she usually keeps it. Heading to the bathroom to bathe, she threw her clothes in the hamper. Turning on the faucet to her tub, she waited for the water to fill it up. She sat on her toilet's lid, with a towel wrapped around her person, deep in thought.

She recalled her conversation with Tsunade earlier. Her blonde teammate's 'promotion' is coming up quite soon. However, the Village Elders are quite hesitant in changing Hokages in this time of unrest.

Most of the hidden villages are at each other's throats. The head honchos are all suspecting that the sudden amassing of missing-nins is no coincidence. One of them has had to have a hand in a plot to start a war.

This trouble stirring up among the shinobi nations have yet to reach the Daimyos' ears, and this turmoil rising among the villages has been quite apparent that Sakura finds it strange that not a single one of the Daimyos hasn't sent word to any of the shinobi village leaders.

A few of Konoha's connections are strained enough as it is, although they can always count on the Sand as an ally when things take a turn for the worse. Their connection with the Kazekage has never been this smooth, ever since Gaara came in. Sakura could say that no matter what happens, Gaara will always be aiding them, unless his people are at stake. She could understand that. And now that his best friend, Naruto, is about to join him in the ranks as village head, things just couldn't get any better.

That's a fresh outlook for all of them, despite being in these troubled times. And with the shinobis' efforts, the citizens are barely affected by such matters. She remembers Tsunade mentioning something about sending a few of Konoha's medics on a medical expedition to Sunagakure in a week. She'll have to volunteer for that. She can't wait to see the Sand siblings once again, as well as the other medics she had made friends with during her last trip.

Noticing her bath is almost full, she turns the faucet off and hangs her towel on the rack to soak in a much needed hot relaxing bath. Humming to herself, Sakura reached for her bath soap and poured the vanilla smelling liquid into the water and mixed it up. Picking up her shampoo bottle and squeezing a small amount onto her palm, she then lathered the similar smelling concoction into her hair.

After several minutes of soaking and rinsing, Sakura got out of the water and bent down to drain the tub. While in the process of wrapping a towel onto her person, the lights flickered and suddenly went out.

Grabbing the kunai she keeps under the sink, Sakura walked out into the darkened corridor. She walks over to the circuit breaker panel, deciding to check on the wiring. She couldn't possibly be cut off since she had just paid her bills a week ago. Finding no fault in the system, she tries to sense if there were any people near or within the vicinity of her home. Finding none, she gropes her way to the kitchen.

Rummaging through the drawers in an attempt to find her missing flashlight, Sakura yelps when she suddenly feels the sensation of a rough tongue running up her leg, along with the cold air hitting the wet trail in its wake.

Looking down, Sakura was not surprised to see Hayate, the stray dog she picked up on her way back from a mission in Wave Country. Sitting on her heels, Sakura pats his head affectionately, with his bright blue eyes staring back at her.

"Where have you been, boy?"

The dog just nuzzles his head into her palm and barks happily, all the while wagging his tail. Hearing a knock on her front door, Sakura walks over to open it. Surprised at seeing the stoic Hyuuga on her doorstep, Sakura attempts to make sure her towel stays secure and covers as much as it is able of her body.

With all her attempts of trying to appear modest having been in vain, Sakura smiles embarrassedly at the white-eyed man. Knowing that she has to apologize and to, at least, explain for her current state of undress, Sakura settled for saying that she was about to put some clothes on. It is improper for a woman to tell a man that she just got of a bath after all, especially knowing about Neji's peculiarity about manners and etiquette. "Sorry about this, Neji-san. I was supposed to change when the lights went off."

Neji had the decency to look anywhere else but below her shoulders. Coughing at the slight awkwardness of the situation, he was sure that if he were a regular guy, his cheeks would've been as red as a tomato compared to the faint pink tint it has now.

"Good evening, Sakura-san. I came to drop Hayate off. Naruto forgot to."

Sakura blinked at this. Naruto must've forgotten to mention that he was borrowing Hayate for the twins to play with for the day. She was so caught up in her exhaustion, and with tending to Naruto's wounds, she hadn't noticed her dog's absence.

"Ah, so that's why he didn't come to greet me when I opened the front door. He usually jumps on me as soon as I set foot in the house."

Smiling at the memory, Sakura shakes her head. Neji looks past her profile and into the darkened living room. He gestures inside, "Would you like me to help you?"

Looking over shoulder, Sakura turns to him in surprise. "Oh, ah, sure." Stepping aside to let the Hyuuga in, she gestured to the lights on her ceiling. "I don't know what caused it, they just flickered off."

Grabbing a chair, Neji climbs on top to loosen a few bulbs. Examining the pieces, he notices that each one of them was spent out. Seeing Sakura emerge from the adjacent room with clothes on, he returns the chair to its former position.

He placed the bulbs on the countertop. "Have you checked the wiring?"

Crossing her arms, Sakura looks toward the breaker panel on the wall across her bathroom door. "I did, They weren't fried or anything. Must be a prank or something, I didn't sense anyone around though."

At the mention of a prank, Neji had a thought. Activating his kekkei-genkai, Neji observes the walls and ceiling. He discovers a faint trace of chakra on a few wires connected to sockets on the building's outer walls. "It _was_ a prank."

Sakura shakes her head in exasperation. "Kids these days. How'd they do it?"

"It's similar to diffusing a bomb, only, they use chakra. I discovered traces of it in your wiring. The chakra diffused the bulbs. It takes some time for it to do so."

Sakura huffed while following Neji to the door. "Huh, very clever." It's not like she has a problem with pranks in general, it's just that she had a very long day and she really doesn't want anything else from ruining her supposedly relaxing evening.

"I don't have any spare bulbs right now, I'll have to change them tomorrow."

"Hinata had the same problem a few days ago. Konohamaru's genin are behind all this. Their attempts on outdoing my cousin's husband, no doubt."

An image of an apologizing Naruto getting scolded by Hinata comes to her mind. Sakura waves it off with a laugh. "I'll warn the idiot to stay away from my house if that's the case. Say hi to Tenten for me."

With a nod, Neji walks off in the night. Sakura stares up at the moonless sky, the stars more evident without its light. Shivering from the chilly air, Sakura walks back into her apartment to get out of the cold wind provided by the night. Making sure all her doors and windows are locked, she then headed off to bed.

Sending a prayer for her still missing teammate, she curls up next to Hayate's warmth and falls into a dreamless sleep.

**Meanwhile in a different part of the village…**

"_Naruto_," the highly irritated lavender-haired beauty grit out, dropping her customary honorific, "you have to stop pestering Hokage-sama about Sasuke-kun. She's doing her best and you can't keep coming home covered in bandages for annoying your superior! You were also supposed to return Hayate to Sakura-chan earlier! Now Neji-nii-san did the job himself, despite him being swamped with mission reports because my husband is incompetent!"

Profusely apologizing to the seething woman in front of him, Naruto tried to implore his wife. "Hinata-chan, please calm down. I'm so sorry, ok? Getting angry is not good for the baby."

"I will get angry as much as I want!" Hinata yelled, her body panting in effort.

Naruto glanced to the right. Two heads covered in mussed blond hair popped out from that side of the room. Pale white eyes landing on the scene the two adults were caught up in. The twins must've been awakened from their sleep due to all the shouting going on downstairs.

"Haru, Nina, please help me talk to your mother." Naruto pleaded to his five-year old kids.

Haru just looked at his dad in indifference with a finger stuck in his nose, while Nina neared her mother and held her hand, "Come on, kaa-chan. Tou-chan will not bother you here anymore," and proceeded to lead her mom into her room.

Naruto gaped at his wife and daughter's retreating backs.

"Ne, tou-chan. Neji-jii-san was right, you are an idiot." His son then walked off, following his little sister into their shared bedroom.

Naruto in turn gaped at his son. By this time, he had tears flowing down his cheeks. He surely was in quite a state right now. He admitted to himself that his actions today were foolish, and he did deserve the treatment for worrying his pregnant wife.

Sighing pitifully, Naruto looked toward the expanse of the starry sky that was visible through the window. "Ah… My loving family." Looks like he'll be sleeping alone tonight.

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**A/N: **So, what do you guys think? Is it too much of a narrative for your taste? I feel that my story lacks "color." You must've expected Sasuke to turn up on Sakura's doorstep didn't you? Sorry about that, well he can't knock if he's unconscious right? I might be introducing him soon, but after a few more chapters. Just be patient and wait for the action!

**Disclaimer:** **Sakura's Hayate** is similar to **Black Hayate, Riza's dog, from FMA Brotherhood**. For those of you who has watched the show,_**the idea isn't entirely mine**_. Sakura having a dog and picking him up in Wave Country is mine though.. But for Hayate's description, he's _exactly _like Black Hayate, though I'm not sure if such dogs are available in the Narutoverse.

**Another note: _Please review!_**


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